Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1993 Dec;96(3):365-372.
doi: 10.1007/BF00317507.

Apparent transgenerational effects of host plant in the leaf beetle Ophraella notulata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Douglas J Futuyma  1 , Christine Herrmann  1 , Stuart Milstein  1 , Mark C Keese  1
Affiliations

Apparent transgenerational effects of host plant in the leaf beetle Ophraella notulata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Douglas J Futuyma et al. Oecologia. 1993 Dec.

Abstract

The natural host of Ophraella notulata is Iva frutescens (Asteraceae); its close relative feeds on a related plant, Ambrosia artemisiifolia. We reared beetles on both plants, obtained progeny from the four possible crosses (two sexes X two parental hosts), and reared the progeny on both plant species. Survival to the imaginal stage of progeny reared on Iva varied with both maternal and paternal host. Hatchling feeding response to both plants showed a maternal host X paternal host interaction. Consumption of Ambrosia by adult beetles was, counter to expectation, higher for progeny of Iva-reared males than Ambrosia-reared males. Oviposition response, although based on too few data to be definitive, was peculiar: parental host did not affect oviposition on Ambrosia; on Iva daughters of Iva-reared males laid significantly more eggs than did daughters of Ambrosia-reared males, but only if they had been reared on Iva; those reared on Ambrosia displayed the reverse pattern. We discuss the possibility that nongenetic paternal transmission of host plant effects may explain these results, but offer a somewhat uncomfortable hypothesis of selection as a preferable explanation. An important outcome of the experiment is that it provided no evidence of maternal effects of host plant on offspring feeding or oviposition.

Keywords: Coleoptera; Herbivory; Host selection; Maternal effect; Paternal effect.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Evolution. 1993 Jun;47(3):888-905 - PubMed
    1. J Theor Biol. 1989 Jul 10;139(1):69-83 - PubMed
    1. Evolution. 1988 Nov;42(6):1223-1234 - PubMed
    1. Evolution. 1989 May;43(3):485-503 - PubMed
    1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Aug;85(16):5992-6 - PubMed